


Shocking

by Kalira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Childhood Memories, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship/Love, Holding Hands, Hugs, Kissing, Mentor/Protégé, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Sai/Yamanaka Ino (background), Soulmates, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22381015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalira/pseuds/Kalira
Summary: How was Sakura supposed to know that the shock she delivered with a raiton-enhanced kick in her spar with Lee would not be the biggest shock the day had in store, for either of them?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 245
Collections: Dog Sensei & Sparklepuppy, Valentine's Spectacular (2020)





	Shocking

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my fluffy soulmate Valentine's Spectacular! Inspired, with some tweaks, by a plot suggested by SolarCupid for this ship and project.

Sakura ducked low, brilliant green eyes narrowed and sparkling as she smirked, then lunged. Lee moved to intercept her, but she twisted as she came so that Lee’s deflection was just a shade too high - he hadn’t realised she was winding up for a kick, especially after spotting her using a few hand seals - and he failed to block her.

Lee yelped breathlessly as Sakura’s foot took him in the ribs and a stabbing pain flashed through his entire body, distracting him for a moment from the fact that he had been sent _flying_ backwards away from her. He slammed into the dirt and laughed as he caught his breath, startled and amazed.

“Oh no! I’m sorry, Lee-kun!” Sakura cried, footsteps approaching rapidly. She must be distressed, Lee thought, aware that Sakura’s steps were all but silent almost always these days. “I must have miscalculated, or. . . I thought it was safe, but I’ve only practised against sensei, maybe there’s a difference, since it’s his affinity. . .”

“I am all right.” Lee assured her as she reached him, and grinned. “What was that?”

“I can’t channel raiton the same way Kakashi-sensei does,” Sakura said, extending a hand to him, “not like that, but it doesn’t actually take that much electricity to disrupt someone’s body. A relatively small shock delivered to the body forces your own muscles to work against you, and it can disable an opponent with almost any blow landed, if the shock is strong enough.”

“Oh! That is impressive!” Lee said, clasping Sakura’s hand and allowing her to draw him to his feet, smiling at her.

“I’m still sorry I-” Sakura broke off, her eyes widening.

“Sakura-chan?” Lee asked, then wobbled as he realised what had so startled her. Sakura had green eyes. Sakura- He had _known_ Sakura’s eyes were green, he had seen them many times - it was what had first drawn him to her, though he had been foolish with his declaration of affections to her when they were younger.

Lee watched the world bleed in with a hundred more colours than the green he had known his whole life and marvelled, even as he cut his gaze back to Sakura’s face. He hadn’t realised they had never actually _locked eyes_ before.

“. . .Sakura?” Lee said tentatively.

“Oh.” Sakura said, and then her knees gave out.

Lee lunged, catching her before she hit the ground, and Sakura clung to his arms. “Sorry. Sorry!” Sakura said, grip tightening. She shook her head quick and hard, then looked up at Lee, meeting his eyes again.

Lee marvelled at them, and found himself leaning thoughtlessly closer. He stiffened and stopped himself.

Sakura still hadn’t spoken any further, only those quick, reflexive apologies.

Lee swallowed, gently trying to nudge her fingers loose and off his arms. “I am sorry.” he said, his heart squeezing painfully. He tried to keep it out of his voice. “I will. . . I will leave you alone. I know this was a surprise, and. . .”

“Lee-kun?” Sakura said, refocusing suddenly. “Yes, it was- I was only surprised. I hadn’t considered that _you_ might be. . .”

“I know.” Lee said, struggling to keep his tone even. “I am not, truly, what, ah, anyone seems to . . . consider. . .” He had become used to it, unable as he was to do anything about it as he had some of the other things he was often derided for. No one hoped for Lee as a soulmate, he was not one of the boys who was dreamed over and never had been. “We . . . _have_ found our colours together,” he paused, taking in Sakura’s face, now more than merely her amazing green eyes, though Lee found they were still his favourite feature, but rosy skin and pale pink hair framing her face and slightly pouty pink lips, “but you know it need not be anything. . .” Lee tugged at Sakura’s hold on him. “I will leave you for now.” he said again.

“No!” Sakura said immediately, almost a bark, and he froze. “No, I only. . . I thought we had already,” she paused, releasing one of his arms and gesturing between them, “we’ve been sparring together for _three years_.”

Lee smiled briefly. “We have. I, too, thought. . .”

He had, perhaps, been _disappointed_ , just . . . just a little. Sakura had been the first person he had met with green eyes - it was why he had so instantly been drawn to her - and the more he knew her, the more he cared for her, was impressed by her. But he had accepted that they were not a match, and been delighted as they built a friendship.

“Lee, I never considered you might be my soulmate because I thought we had already looked each other in the eye, and I had not yet seen my colours.” Sakura said more quietly, reaching up and brushing a callused hand over his cheek.

Lee blinked, feeling his cheeks warm. Sakura smiled, her eyes sparkling again. It was even prettier, Lee thought, with the frame of the rest of her face being painted in soft colours as well. Or perhaps it was because she was smiling at him from so close. Or perhaps it was because it was _she_ who had brought him his colours, and Lee’s heart was still fluttering giddily at their blooming.

Lee had tried not to hope, and then he had thought it was _beyond_ hope, that she was surely _not_ his soulmate, for the past few years.

“You know,” Lee said tentatively, resting his hand on Sakura’s arm and giving it a gentle squeeze, “my going away so that you - we - may think after this . . . it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Do you need time to think?” Sakura asked, tilting her head.

Lee swallowed. “No.” he said, his tone a little more raw than he had quite intended to let show. “I will not be upset if you do, however.”

Sakura hummed, lips pursed and eyes going faraway again.

* * *

_“Sakura-chan!”_

_Sakura grinned as Ino reached her, returning Ino’s hug happily. “Ino-chan! What is it?” she asked curiously. “You’re so excited, did something. . .”_

_“Sasuke-kun has black eyes!” Ino said, clasping her hands together and sighing._

_“I know!” Sakura felt herself blushing. “I’m so-” she faltered as Ino continued. “What?”_

_“What? What do you mean-” Ino frowned at her. “Black is my colour. Sasuke is my soulmate.” She scowled._

_“Black is my colour. . .” Sakura said quietly, leaning back._

_Ino tensed and Sakura glared._

* * *

_Sakura sighed, watching Sasuke walk away, on his way home._

_“Sakura-chan!”_

_“I need to get home, Naruto-kun.” Sakura told him before he could continue, and flashed him a smile. “Didn’t you promise to help Konohamaru-kun with something?”_

_“Oh, yeah!” Naruto beamed at her, and Sakura shook her head, amused, as he ran off._

_Sakura glanced at Sasuke again, his back as he headed away, alone, as he always did._

_Because of his tragedy, Sakura thought, but also because of his own choice - he wouldn’t let anyone near, he. . ._

_He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. Sakura frowned as she made her own way home. They’d been teammates for months, and yet while Sakura knew his eyes were black - black as her colour - she had never met his gaze directly._

_Sakura sighed wistfully._

* * *

_“Sakura, is. . . Is it bad that as much as I’m looking forward to learning about him, to maybe falling in love, I’m also just . . . relieved that I was wrong all these years?” Ino asked, looking a little fretful._

_Sakura frowned. “Wrong?” She paused. “We haven’t even known Sai for-”_

_“Not about Sai. That- That it isn’t. . .” Ino drew a breath. “That Sasuke wasn’t really the one who held my colours.”_

_“Oh.” Sakura swallowed._

_“I mean, you’ve known, at least, but I never even got him to look at me, and I. . .” Ino shuddered. “After he abandoned us . . . after he attacked Naruto, and the others, after everything he’s done. . .”_

_“It’s not wrong.” Sakura said, squeezing her friend’s hands. She swallowed back the impulse to tell Ino that she didn’t know, that question yet remained a cold weight in her stomach, and instead congratulated her on finding her soulmate. Even if Sai was a little. . . “Falling in love, hm?”_

_Ino huffed, looking away. “I. . . Well, I don’t know him very well, but. . .”_

_“No one does, I think.” Sakura said gently, and Ino nodded, looking suddenly fierce._

_It was the same expression Ino had turned on the bullies who had tried to make Sakura feel badly about herself, or leave the park, the Academy, the kunoichi classes, when they were younger. It was Ino at her most dangerous, when she felt protective._

_“Sai is very lucky.” Sakura said softly, and Into blinked, then grinned._

_“Of course he is.” she said with a sniff, tossing her head, her long ponytail swinging, and Sakura giggled._

_Ino laughed, then nudged Sakura lightly and began to talk about what she had learned from Sai, about him, looking bright and curious and a little nervous. Ready to fall in love, Sakura thought, with just a touch of wistfulness she pushed back as she focused on her best friend.  
_

* * *

_Sakura’s heart was in her throat as Naruto stumbled back, bleeding badly. She dove from her position and faced off against Sasuke herself, though she knew Naruto would be fine - she wasn’t entirely convinced Naruto wasn’t largely indestructible, physically._

_She tuned out the taunting words Sasuke threw at her - he didn’t know her, never had, any more than she had known him, and he certainly didn’t know her now - and watched his hands. Partly to keep watch on what he might throw at her, and partly because a sinking, cold weight in her stomach reminded her of his black eyes and that ever-unanswered question._

_“Just get out of my way, you useless little girl!” Sasuke snarled, raising a hand full of crackling lightning._

_Sakura set her jaw and flared her chakra, shaping it easily and moving as Sasuke lunged for her. His snarl, she thought absently as she braced herself, was not anywhere near as impressive as he probably thought it was. She wondered if it was really so faint and pitiful, or if she was biased by spending time with Kakashi-sensei and his dogs._

_Sakura deflected the lightning and Sasuke stared at her. It had been the first major jutsu Kakashi-sensei taught her, and he had devised it specifically to counter the chidori he had shared with Sasuke. “I’m not useless and you’re not getting past me.” Sakura said, forcing her jaw to unclench, and their eyes . . . met._

_Sakura’s breath caught and her stomach knotted, but there was no flood of colour blooming in her world, spreading outwards from his eyes, and she nearly shook with relief._

_Not now, though. She didn’t have time, no more than she had the time to think about the shift in her hopes over the years. Sakura turned halfway, punching Sasuke, hoping to get him out of her space. Shocked as he clearly was at her so easily evading his raiton jutsu, Sasuke still managed to block her punch, but Sakura was already moving into another strike, countering his return blow and hissing as the kunai she hadn’t seen him slip into his hand laid open her forearm._

_Sakura kicked at Sasuke’s knees, huffing with satisfaction as he stumbled, though he was steady again in seconds. She had her kodachi in her hand by the time he closed with her again, and she didn’t give him time to try another jutsu, pressing him back with her longer blade._

_Sakura was not so surprised as she would have liked to be when Naruto, still bleeding, rushed to them, crying out, Sasuke’s name breathless and desperate on his lips. Sakura fell back, though she didn’t take her eyes off Sasuke as he and Naruto fought, yelling at each other._

* * *

Lee’s voice had been almost painfully open when he denied any need to think about this new revelation between them.

Sakura hesitated, then leaned up, thumb rubbing over his cheek, and gave him a soft kiss.

Lee stared at her, looking as though he might be shocked speechless, and Sakura swallowed a giggle. She didn’t want him to draw the wrong conclusion from it. She felt herself blushing, though.

“I believe we _both_ need to think; taking the time for that with a newly-found match is only natural, don’t you agree?” Sakura said gently as Lee watched her with a faintly anxious look. “That doesn’t mean you have to _go away_ , however . . . or that we cannot speak about it together.” She tilted her head, smiling a little. “We’re friends, are we not?” she added, knowing how important that was to Lee, as it was to her.

Lee grinned, his broad shoulders settling a little; Sakura hadn’t quite realised how tense they had become. “I have hoped so.” he said sincerely. Lee was always so earnest, and warm. It had taken some adjusting to, when Kakashi-sensei had first brought her to train with Gai-sensei’s team, and when Sakura eventually began to spend more time around Lee besides. It had not, however, been an unpleasant thing to get used to. It was rather sweet, really.

Sakura kept finding her attention straying, the world all too-bright and startling. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment as she dragged her attention back to Lee’s face, “the . . . everything is kind of distracting.” She shook her head, blinking. “All the colours. . .”

“They are very nice.” Lee said, making her smile again, faintly amused. “I think green will always be my favourite colour, though.” he added, looking away.

“Green?” Sakura repeated, looking at his jumpsuit, which she had _known_ was green, but never known what . . . green . . . was.

It was very emphatic, in the case of Lee’s jumpsuit.

Sakura jumped as Lee’s callused and battered fingers brushed her cheek, meeting his dark eyes again. Lee smiled, softer than she had actually known he _could_ before today. “Like your eyes. They’re like the brightest spring plants.”

“Oh!” Sakura blushed more deeply, and Lee’s smile broadened as he brushed his thumb by the corner of her eye. It took her a few minutes to gather herself again, and then she slipped a hand over one of Lee’s, squeezing lightly. “Shall we . . . spend some quieter time together and maybe talk a little?” she asked, and Lee clasped her hand gently, nodding.

Sakura smiled as she laced their fingers, nudging Lee to choose their path and feeling like her blush might not be fading any time soon as he told her how her eyes had been what had first drawn him to her.

“You thought I was your soulmate even then?” Sakura asked, and Lee ducked his head, looking embarrassed. “Lee?”

“Maybe. But you were just so. . .” Lee swallowed, not looking at her. “You were the first person with green eyes I had seen.” He shrugged awkwardly, and Sakura tugged at his hand, drawing his gaze. “I handled it-”

“You’ve apologised. So have I.” Sakura said, wincing internally at her behaviour when they had first met. “Neither of us were very mature at the time.” she said diplomatically, and Lee squeezed her hand. Sakura smiled. “I am very glad we have had time since to know each other better.”

“Me too.” Lee said brightly.

“I’m glad,” Sakura said, after a pause, “that we will know each other better still?”

Lee bit his lip, nodding rapidly. He was adorable, Sakura thought, though he might not appreciate being told so. She elected not to say it, just now, leaning against his shoulder as they walked and gently coaxing him to talk with her. He was also incredibly solid, but that was nothing new to Sakura either, even as he shifted his grip on her hand and his upper arm tensed, the muscles briefly feeling like steel under his skin.

They had the rest of the day, until dinnertime, before anyone else would be expecting to see them; they had plenty of time to spend together, beginning to get used to things.

Sakura found she was rather enjoying it, and idly trailed the fingers of her free hand up Lee’s forearm, across the snug bandages wrapped there. His voice hitched and he nearly stumbled, and Sakura smiled, squeezing his hand. Adorable.

**Omake:**

“Sensei!”

“Pup.” Kakashi answered, cocking his head and looking at Sakura, bright eyed and smiling. He smiled a little in response.

“You remember how you terrified that boy who flirted with me on our last escort mission?” Sakura asked, and Kakashi hummed, surprised at the reference; that had been some months and several missions ago.

“I wouldn’t have said I terrified him.” he said mildly.

“You terrified him.” Sakura said, snorting and tossing her head. Kakashi suppressed a laugh. “He was obnoxious and he deserved it, I wanted to slap him.”

Kakashi had wanted to do rather worse than slap him, particularly when he began trying to insinuate himself into Sakura’s personal space, taking her hands and stroking her shoulder or side without invitation. Kakashi had restrained himself rather well, he felt. As had Sakura, the first time she had tensed and started to snarl under her breath and _not_ slammed the boy into the ground.

“Remember how you said you’d scare off any boy that came near me if you felt it necessary?” Sakura said, and Kakashi’s brows rose.

“I remember nothing of the kind.” he denied.

Sakura pouted, crossing her arms, and Kakashi chuckled. “ _Sensei._ ” She dragged out the word.

“What is it you want to say?” Kakashi asked dryly.

“There’s a boy you don’t need to be scary at.” Sakura said, and Kakashi stilled.

“Is there.” Kakashi frowned slightly. He inspected her. “. . .have you found. . .”

Sakura smiled shyly. “I don’t think you _would_ scare him,” she said, “even if you would be inclined to try, but there’s . . . no need.” She paused. “Yes,” she added quietly, “I found my colours.”

Kakashi smiled. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you!” Sakura bounced a little, biting her lip on a giggle.

Kakashi knew very well that soulmates could be anything but good for each other, and it certainly didn’t mean the boy wouldn’t hurt her, but he wouldn’t remind her of it when she was obviously so pleased to have found him. He hoped she would be happy with her soulmate, regardless. He was glad to see that she _was_ happy, now, at least.

“And you know Lee would set himself on _fire_ before he would hurt me willingly, Kakashi-sensei, even _before_ this,” Sakura said, and Kakashi tensed, surprised, “so it’s all right. I just,” she shifted, grabbing his arm, and he let her have it, “I wanted to share it with you.”

“I’m happy if you’re happy, pup.” Kakashi said honestly, pulling her in and giving her a half-hug, resting his jaw atop her head as she came in close; four years and she’d hardly grown much taller, even as she grew from a skinny little girl to a lean, powerfully-built woman, she still fit neatly under his chin. Kakashi huffed, tucking her a little closer, and Sakura wrapped her arms around his ribs, snuggling into him with a quiet hum.

“I’m happy, sensei.” Sakura said against his collarbone. “We’re still figuring things out, but I’m happy. Happier than I thought I’d be.”

“Good.” Kakashi said, relaxing a little. At least she was also being smart about this. Which shouldn’t have surprised him; his pup was a clever girl. “I will only growl at him when necessary.”

Sakura giggled, and Kakashi smiled as she drew back. “I don’t think it will be necessary, sensei.”

“You’re my pup,” Kakashi reminded her, ruffling her hair, “it may be. Formality’s sake.”

The teasing made Sakura laugh again, even as she gestured questioningly to the clear space they often sparred in, and Kakashi nodded, shooing her on ahead as he rose.


End file.
